March 26, 2011

She sent me the "baby bracelet" worn by my husband in the hospital on the day he was born.

Back then they didn't just slap a plasticine strap around your arm with your name on it.

They actually put alphabet charms together to spell your name.

She also sent me my brother-in-law's bracelet and asked me to use it to make something special for his daughter as a birthday surprise.

I thought and I thought and I thought.

Finally, this.

I don't know why, but I had a very hard time coming up with a design. I guess because I knew it was an important piece. Not that all pieces we create aren't important, but this one was to {hopefully} have a special meaning for my niece.

Simple.

Elegant.

Heirloom.

And dare I say, vintage?

Once it was finally finished I decided that I was happy with it after all.

March 24, 2011

So who's with me on this one? My stash of flea market and thrift store vintage jewelry finds includes mucho rhinestones. (Can you tell I didn't study Spanish? I studied French ~ and a lot of good that did me!) Up until recently I had a phobia (for lack of a better word) about taking some of those rhinestones and using them for other things. Until I had an epiphany and realized that they look SO DAMN GOOD when they're added to OTHER things. Case in point.

Okay, so maybe you can't really tell what I'm talking about here. Let's move on to a (somewhat) better photo.

Can you see the bling now? I salvaged the rhinestones from a broken and very much I've-seen-better-days gold plated necklace with a broken clasp. The stones seem quite at home on the St. Joseph medal, no? And the rhinestone dangle came straight from the necklace as well.

Gotta love the crown charm. And the patina of the medal. The back looks like this.

St. Joseph pray for us. Amen to that.

And to change gears completely here, I want to thank each and every one my followers who has been so loyal and so supportive. It means more than you know. And as for you lurkers, I know who you are....and thank you, too.

Next time I'll be delving more into the Easter Egg Hunt Protocol (yes, there's a protocol ~ you weren't informed?) So stay tuned.

March 22, 2011

For the past 4 out of 5 years my family has hosted a ginormous Easter Egg Hunt/Brunch with all the trimmings. When I say ginormous, think 61 kids and 45 adults. Yes, that's s.i.x.t.y o.n.e. k.i.d.s. All going in and out of my house at the same time. But hey, my husband wanted to make it a grand tradition that our kids will always remember. And believe me, they will!

A LOT of preparation goes into this event. So I thought that this year it was time for me to share some of the arduous and really time-consuming really fun crafts, recipes, decor, etc. that go into what we call our Easter Egg Hunt. And what better place to start than with my PEEPS?

Who doesn't love peeps? I actually grew up not far from where they're made in Bethlehem, PA. Today they're sold year-round for many holidays, not just Easter. But I digress....I wanted to share a Peeps recipe that was a big hit with both the kids (who got to help) and the adults. They're called Peeps Bunny Dips. And if you also like chocolate you're in for a nice surprise!

Unfortunately, I wasn't a blogger when I made these, so there's no pics of the actual making-of-the-peeps. However, it's sooooooo easy you truly don't need any visuals.

TO PREPARE
1. Melt chocolate according to manufacturer's instructions (I just used Nestle milk chocolate chips, threw them in a glass bowl and put them in the microwave for a few minutes at a time, warming them gradually until they melted.)
2. Transfer melted chocolate to bowl deep enough for dipping.
3. Let cool until comfortable to the touch and slightly thicker than when first melted. This helps the chocolate to "cling" to the Peeps and the toppings to "cling" to the chocolate.
4. Hold a Peeps bunny by the ears and dip bottom of bunny into the chocolate. Allow the excess to drip off.
5. Roll or dip chocolate-covered bunny in favorite topping. (We used multi-colored sprinkles ~ they taste good and make them pop with color! We didn't use coconut or nuts, but I'm sure that would be good, too.)
6. Cool on parchment paper.

These can be made ahead of time. Then just arrange them on a festive plate with Easter grass and enjoy!

NOTE: You can go to the Peeps website and find lots of recipes for those Peeps. I looked for this one, but it's no longer listed. I couldn't figure out why, until I stumbled upon their new product line.

So it looks like they're making their OWN Peeps Bunny Dips now. But that's OK. Cause everything tastes better handmade, no? (And if you're pressed for time you can always run out and buy the ready made ones. There, I said it!)

Yum.

More Easter Egg Hunt gems to follow as we get closer to Easter!

And before I forget, you can now subscribe to my blog via e-mail. Just go up to the top of my right sidebar to subscribe.

March 21, 2011

Time has been slipping past me lately, what with all of our St. Patrick's Day dancing and celebrating last week....and, oh, yeah, that thing about the septic system backing up into the house on Friday.....ENOUGH SAID. It's time to MOVE FORWARD and that's what I'm really trying to do.

Alas, not my house! Read on......

There WAS a glimmer of hope in my otherwise dreary weekend ~ I attended a Blog Girl gathering at the home of a fellow blogger, Heidi. She graciously welcomed us into her home, affording us the luxury of hanging out with her and other women bloggers for a Saturday afternoon.

Heidi and Jen, the cohost of the gathering, led us in a lively discussion about some of the ups and downs of blogging. It was really nice to just sit back and listen to what other similarly situated women had to say about their own blogging experiences. It's also nice to know that you're not the only one who is trying to balance blogging with the rest of what we call "Life."

The women are all amazingly talented and interesting ~ stop by their blogs and let 'em know I sent you! Go on, then, what are you waiting for?

Thankfully I've been energized and inspired by these women, and with Spring right around the corner I am starting to feel motivated again. Now if I could just manage to focus on only one project at a time.......

March 11, 2011

I've been loving these for quite some time, but I didn't want to pay for them. I also knew I could make them myself, it was just a matter of actually getting around to doing the project (among many other projects ~ am I the only one who juggles a few at once? I mean, is there a name for that? Besides scattered, I mean!)

Having been an English major in college, at first I was afraid to rip the covers off. But once I started it was pretty easy. Here are mine after I went to town on them.

I chose to go with three, rather than four books. I just thought that it looked better.

Enter the twine, a la Dollar General.

And voila.

In doing some research on these little beauties

I found out that books are used in oh-so-many ways to decorate. In this case, I guess you could say it's book-as-relic decorating (I read that somewhere and thought it sounded impressive).

Thatcher Wine of Juniper Books is someone known for using books to decorate. He was featured in a recent New York Times article entitled, "Selling a Book by its Cover." You can check it out here . You should also check out the Juniper Books blog as well as the New York Times "Books as a Way to Grace a Room" slideshow which gives awesome inspiration for even more beautiful book decorating.